but I've put the coffee on and opened the doors.
If you would like to be added to or removed from the Finest ping list, FReepMail me.
Unfortunately, one of the first things I learned hit home.
In the article below, the very first name is from this small town.
8 Bodies Found in Raid Were U.S. Soldiers
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Eight of the bodies found during the rescue of an American POW in Iraq this week were members of her ambushed Army maintenance unit, the Pentagon announced Saturday.
The eight soldiers were with Pfc. Jessica Lynch when their unit, the 507th Maintenance Company, was ambushed near Nasiriyah on March 23.
The U.S. commandos who freed Lynch from a hospital in Nasiriyah this week also found 11 bodies, nine of which were believed to be those of Americans. The nine bodies had been returned to a forensics center at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for identification and investigation of how they died.
The Pentagon issued a statement early Saturday morning saying the status of the eight soldiers had been changed from missing to killed.
The soldiers were:
Sgt. George E. Buggs, 31, of Barnwell, S.C.
Master Sgt. Robert J. Dowdy, 38, of Cleveland.
Pvt. Ruben Estrella-Soto, 18, of El Paso, Texas.
Spc. James M. Kiehl, 22, of Comfort, Texas.
Chief Warrant Officer Johnny Villareal Mata, 35, of Amarillo, Texas.
Pfc. Lori Ann Piestewa, 23, of Tuba City, Ariz.
Pvt. Brandon U. Sloan, 19, of Cleveland.
Sgt. Donald R. Walters, 33, of Kansas City, Mo. All were members of the 507th Maintenance, an army unit based at Fort Bliss, Texas.
Five members of the unit remain listed as prisoners of war. Shortly after the unit's ambush, the five were shown on Iraqi state-run television being questioned by their captors.
Iraqi television also showed footage of at least five bodies. After viewing that footage, Pentagon officials accused Iraq of executing prisoners of war.
There was no immediate word from the Pentagon Saturday on whether the soldiers were killed in the ambush or afterward.
04/05/03 01:00 EST
================================================== Pausing this morning to pray for these fallen, and for their families and friends and communities...
SpookBrat hailed me to the narrative, after I'd heard it on television, and the article speaks of two of the men having accepted Christ; one earlier and one just before the battle.
Yes, Spooky - blessed assurance indeed, able to rest in His arms.
57 degrees as I post this, headin' for ~76 today . . .
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I'm on the road for a few days, but, to my great delight, I'm still wired.
Freepo ergo sum.